WVU Takes Down Spartans

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University volleyball team defeated Norfolk State 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-11) in its first game of the Mountaineer Invitational Friday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.

“I thought Norfolk State played really hard. The combination of them playing hard and us having some careless mistakes led to some crunch-time situations in the first two sets,” says coach Jill Kramer. “It's nice to be in those situations and have no doubt in your mind that you're going to get it done.”

The Mountaineers are now 4-0 for the second time in the last four seasons under Kramer.

“As a team, we've definitely come a long way from last season,” says sophomore outside hitter Nikki Attea, who chipped in nine kills and two blocks. “But there are always things we could be improving, and I think we all have the proper mindset to do that.”

West Virginia was able to take a back-and-forth first set, 25-22. The Mountaineers grabbed the set behind six kills from Anderson.

Sophomore setter Brittany Sample and Anderson connected six times for kills in the second set, as the Mountaineers held the Spartans to just a .094 hitting percentage. WVU would claim a close set two by a final score of 25-23.

“We talked about our lack of discipline in the first two sets," Kramer says. "We had our focus in the wrong places and then came out in the third set and you started to see us competing and focused.”

The Mountaineers pulled away in the third set, registering a .385 hitting percentage, while holding Norfolk State to a .000 team hitting percentage, on their way to a 25-11 set win.

WVU will return to action with its second game of the Mountaineer Invitational tonight at 6:30 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum against Canisius.